Low Rates Have Helped Fund Drilling; Tighter Policy May Not Choke Off Boom

The oil patch has run up the mother of all tabs. So will rising interest rates choke off the shale boom?

Between 2006 and 2012, U.S. exploration and production companies clocked almost $1 trillion in capital expenditure, far above operating cash flow of $670 billion, according to Raymond James. Companies have proven adept at filling that funding gap, not least by raising debt.